We've been hearing a great deal lately about Barack Obama and his courage; or what passes for courage when a lapdog media is in control of its definition. Although I generally pass up most of what comes from the pens of liberal pundits, one couldn't hide this week from the deluge of presidential paeans.

First up were adoring tributes to the bravery of a man who merely gave the okay to a mission that was years in the making but was actually carried out by truly heroic men who are not usually beloved by the media. Men who, in just a few years, will return home to be treated as possible terror suspects by an Obama Administration who gleaned the benefits of their valor without any commensurate risks. In covering this story, a real show of courage would have been one in which the media expressed just a sliver of curiosity about the details of the bin Laden rubout and disposal at sea.

No sooner did we catch our breath from the giddy bin Laden death celebrations, when, thanks to Joe Biden's latest case of oral diarrhea, President Obama was able to summon his vast stores of courage to thrill leftists everywhere by coming out of the closet on gay marriage. Now, being a bitter, Christian clinger, I subscribe to the idea that a man will be known by his fruits; and if ever a man's actions demonstrated overt support for the homosexual agenda, that man is indeed Barack Obama.

His historic snubbing of Congress by refusing to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, his demoralizing politicization of our military by ending 'Don't Ask Don't Tell', and probably his most radical and underpublicized act of all, making homosexual "rights" a priority in determining American foreign policy, have spoken for him. And yet, bowing to the cravings of a truly slobbering media, he declared his outright affirmation of homosexual marriage.

Was this announcement historic and unexpected? Yes and maybe. But was it courageous? That would be a resounding no. It was, as are most election-year revelations, simply a case of pandering to his base; as the Washington Post reports, one in six of his campaign 'bundlers' are openly homosexual. Even the New York Times admits that "Most Americans suspect that President Obama was motivated by politics."

Yet it is claimed that he is courageous because blacks, like most of America, are opposed to gay marriage. But in truth, where else would they go? Would Obama's 'courage' on this issue drive them suddenly into the arms of the lily-white Mitt Romney? One would like to think so, but they, like most Americans who allow themselves to be bullied into groupthink, will probably stay with their enablers, just like unfaithful Catholics and Jews who ignore their faith teaching in favor of the allures of liberal popular culture.

And the pressure from our arbiters of culture is growing in desperation. Employing the liberal tactic of using polls to influence opinion rather than track it, they are fond of citing their findings in favor of gay marriage. But polling on the subject is far different than the polling that counts: in the ballot box. How many Americans would actually tell a pollster that they are repulsed by homosexual marriage and shudder to think of their children choosing that 'lifestyle'? Yet, voters in 30 states have virtually decided that very thing by amending their constitutions to define marriage as solely between a man and a woman.

And so it might seem that a president advocating such an electorally unpopular position would indeed be an act of courage, were it not for one thing: he said he believes that it is an issue to be decided by the states. Funny he doesn't feel that way about immigration, healthcare or abortion though, but it's only window-dressing after all. Because it has allowed him to continue to associate himself with the oppressed, and as we all know, those who speak out against Obama now will not only be branded as racists, but hateful homophobes as well.

So no, the president showed no courage here; only cold, political calculation. The only courage on this issue will be demonstrated by those who break free from politically correct thinking and vote on what's best for America; an America that is hopefully getting sick and tired of this browbeating on the subject of their intolerance of whichever victim of majority oppression is on the menu today. I think they've had quite enough of our first 'black/woman/gay president', and simply desire another 'American president'.